The Solovetsky Islands (often referred to as Solovki) are six islands located in the waters of the White Sea in northern Russia. It is located just 165km from the Arctic Circle. Founded in the 15th century, Solovetsky Monastery was one of Russia’s most famous and holy monasteries, and became a major pilgrimage destination.
It was also a place of exile, and in the 20th century it was used as a brutal Soviet prison camp at which over a million prisoners died. Soviet leaders of the 1920’s saw the advantage of the islands’ isolation and stark climate differently and transformed the archipelago into one of the country’s first gulags. It is still haunted by the shadows of the victims who suffered for their political views in both Imperial and Soviet times, yet its ancient monastery gives the place a unique air of spirituality. The monastery was rehabilitated after the fall of the Soviet Union, and today the islands’ natural beauty, spiritual significance and weighty history draw tourists of all kinds to their shores.
During World War II, the Solovetsky Islands were used as a naval base. The monastery reopened in the early 1990s and is once again home to a few monks. Many of the churches and other monastery buildings remain under renovation.
Today, Solovetsky Monastery is a World Heritage Site,
